


More Than Fond

by Abbyromana



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Secret Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-14 02:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20593085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abbyromana/pseuds/Abbyromana
Summary: Barbara Gordon has something on her mind, but can't quite put a word to it.





	More Than Fond

**Author's Note:**

> This is a re-edit of something I wrote a few years ago, so I don't know if it completely matches with the current season out, but I just had to post it here. I hope you enjoy it.

_Fondness._ That’s the word Barbara Gordon used to explain the troubling occurrences. At least, it was what she told her friends.  
  
First, her throat would go dry. Then, her heart would beat just a little bit faster than normal. Next, her face would get a little warmer. Finally, despite her best efforts, a broad grin would curve her lips upward. All of it was due to Richard Grayson entering the room.  
  
She told herself repeatedly it was because she was fond of the thirteen year old. “Who wouldn’t be,” she mentally told herself, nibbling on the cap on the end of her favorite blue pen and scrutinizing Richard's relaxed posture over the top of her American history book. As he did during most lunch periods, he was socializing with some mathletes.  
  
_Genius_ was one way to describe him, but she thought there was more to him than that. He was also the second best gymnast Barbara had ever seen, just after the Boy Wonder, and yet, he wasn’t on the Academy’s squad. That puzzled her, but she assumed he preferred to focus on his studies and mathlete. Clearly, it wasn't a fear of showing off, which Richard excelled at.  
  
Beyond the mental and physical, Richard could be quite charming when he wasn’t bragging about himself. His sense of humor was a hit or miss, but she noticed he could be very kind and generous to others. Last but not least, Richard had a mountain of confidence.  
  
Sometimes, it irritated her; mostly, that was because she envied him. Here she was sixteen, and she wasn’t anywhere near as confident as him. Even when she went out on patrol with Robin as Batgirl, she struggled with her very vocal, internal pessimist. Of course, considering Richard was once part of the Amazing Flying Graysons and Bruce Wayne had been his legal guardian for the last few years, confidence probably came part and par with his upbringing. He was a natural at being the center of attention.  
  
“You can take the boy out of the circus, but you can’t take the circus out of the boy,” Barbara said jokingly. She giggled to herself, covering her mouth to muffle her laughter. When she looked back at Richard, she saw him looking straight at her. Her heart skipped two beats. Her throat went drier than the Nevada desert that her mom took her and her brother to last summer. Her face felt like it was on fire, but she didn’t dare to look away or couldn’t; she wasn’t completely sure.  
  
All she knew was she was staring wide-eyed at him, and he was staring wide-eyed right back. There was no malice in his gaze or disgust, just the same surprise and awe that she felt. Seconds ticked by, maybe even years, Barbara didn’t know or care. 

Unfortunately, as quickly as the moment came, it was gone with one playful shove from a mathlete friend of Richard. He looked away from her, and Barbara released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Without thinking about it, she slammed her history book shut, shoved it into her backpack, and hurried out of the lunchroom. She didn’t even say goodbye to her friends at the table. She just wanted to get as far away as soon as possible.  
  
She finally stopped running when she reached her locker. Resting her hand on the combination lock, she struggled to remember the numbers to open it. To be more accurate, her mind was too busy scolding herself for acting so rashly due to meeting Richard's gaze. He was just a boy, a junior level boy at that. Sure, he was in the top five percent of the school and considered by many girls to be one of the cutest boys on campus, but she wasn’t some crushing tweener. She was three years older than him with her own sort of boyfriend, if she could call Reggie that since they had only been able to communicate via postcard for the last several months.  
  
Still, this fondness she had for Richard was near consuming. Admittedly, this was even when he wasn't a physical presence and just happen to pop into her head. In fact, how many times had she been out on patrol with Robin but imagined it was Dick instead of the brash, boastful, and immature Boy Wonder.  
  
“If only Dick was Robin,” Barbara mumbled. Several times, she knocked her head against her locker door, whimpering in defeat.  
  
Barbara Gordon had to acknowledge it. She was not fond of Richard Grayson. No, that couldn't further from the truth. She was smitten with him, and maybe even that wasn’t being completely honest.  
  
“What am I going to do?” she said with a despairing sigh. “What am I going to do?”


End file.
